“If I were to talk to those people who have the greatest stake in the future — mothers and fathers – and ask them what they want for their families, their answers would all be the same. They would say, “I want good schools for my kids. I want good healthcare for everybody in the family. I want a strong economy that supports good jobs. I want to live in a world that’s at peace. I want to be able to practice my faith with a sense of security. I want to live in a community that is accepting and uplifting.”

Ontarians embrace the religious and cultural diversity that breathes life into our communities — diversity that is the foundation of our success. Muslim Canadians are a vital part of our cherished mosaic, and have done much to enhance the social, cultural and economic fabric of our province.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a very important event on the Islamic calendar. It is a time to cultivate a spirit of peace, fellowship and forgiveness. It is also a time to focus on the value of friendship and family relationships, the importance of charity and of helping those in need — and to appreciate how fortunate we are to be Ontarians.

It has been my fundamental belief that here in Ontario we have been commissioned by history to lead and to stand as a shining example, not just for our people, but for the world, which sometimes despairs of our ability to rise above our differences and to celebrate what it is that we have in common. So thank you for celebrating your faith, living up to your teachings, your precepts, and your understandings. It’s important, again, to all of us that we in Ontario find accommodation and find strength in our differences.

There will always be times when that diversity and our differences create barriers, whether in the workplace or in our communities. That is why our government has worked hard to provide all of us tools to overcome those barriers. We have strengthened our Human Rights system by streamlining the complaints process and setting up the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which provides crucial legal services to individuals throughout Ontario who believe they have experienced discrimination. The Centre’s services range from legal assistance in filing an application at the Tribunal to legal representation on human rights applications. These are offered in many languages. Together, we have come a long way to ensure that our diversity truly is our strength.

All the world’s great faiths and all the world’s wisest people have been telling us something for thousands of years now and sometimes we fail to heed an important lesson. And that lesson is this: what’s most important is not the colour of our skin; it is not the language that we speak; it is not the wealth that we accumulate; it is not the power that we wield; it is not the traditions that we cherish; it’s not the culture that we inherit. What’s most important is what we have in common. It’s our humanity. And if I were to talk to those people who have the greatest stake in the future — mothers and fathers – and ask them what they want for their families, their answers would all be the same. They would say, “I want good schools for my kids. I want good healthcare for everybody in the family. I want a strong economy that supports good jobs. I want to live in a world that’s at peace. I want to be able to practice my faith with a sense of security. I want to live in a community that is accepting and uplifting.”

That’s our shared responsibility in Ontario – to build something that is worthy of the dreams that we have for our families. I hope you have a wonderful Eid.